


when you move, i’m moved

by HeartonFire



Series: you don’t do it on purpose, but you make me shake [1]
Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Clothed Sex, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, KastleNetwork, Smut, Undercover, Vaginal Sex, kastlesmutweek, ksw: makeout monday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-11 19:13:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20158669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartonFire/pseuds/HeartonFire
Summary: Frank asks Karen for a favor, and she says yes. Where they end up isn't exactly where either of them planned.





	when you move, i’m moved

**Author's Note:**

> For KastleSmutWeek 2k19:  
makeout monday: **fake relationship - undercover mission** \- fumbling/nervous | "take off your clothes"

It didn’t make any sense. It was the dumbest plan Frank had ever heard. 

“Why exactly do we need to bring Karen into this?”

“For your cover,” David said, like it was obvious. “You’ll be too conspicuous if you’re alone. We need you to fly under the radar, get the information we need, and get out.”

“Why don’t you do it?”   
“Sarah would kill me if she knew I was involved in this at all.” He was probably right about that. 

“Why not you, Curt?”

“I keep this kind of shit out of my personal life. You know that.” He had lost more than one girlfriend with that policy, but this didn’t seem like the time to bring that up, especially after everything that happened the last time he helped Frank out. Frank owed him. He could admit that. But not like this. 

“Just call her.”

“She’s not going to want to talk to me.”

David and Curtis exchanged a look. “Just call her.”

Frank sighed and pulled out his phone. It rang, and it kept ringing. He hoped she wouldn’t answer. He had seen her, a few times, since everything that happened at the hospital. They had met for coffee, gone for a walk, talked around all the things that made it awkward. It was okay. They were okay.

This was not okay. He couldn’t ask this of her. He was about to hang up, when the ringing stopped.

“Frank?” 

His heart thumped painfully in his chest at the sound of her voice. He had to turn away from David and Curtis. They already gave him too much grief about Karen. He didn’t need to give them any more ammunition.

“Frank? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No.” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “No. I’m fine. How are you?”

“Fine.” She sounded wary now, unsure. “What’s going on?” He knew she was really asking what he needed. He hated that she only expected him to call when he needed something from her. He hated it more that she was right this time.

“I, uh, need a favor.”

“I’ll be home in an hour. Come by and we can talk about it.”

“Okay.”

He hung up and took a breath. When he turned back to David and Curtis, they were smirking a little too much for his liking. 

“So?”

“She didn’t say yes.”

“That means she didn’t say no.”

“I’m going to go over there and talk to her about it.” It was better that way. He could talk to her, without these two listening in and thinking whatever they were thinking about the two of them. 

Curtis cut David off before he said anything. Frank was glad; he didn’t need to punch him today. “Let us know how it goes.” 

Frank was nervous, ringing the buzzer to Karen’s apartment. He wasn’t used to seeing her like this. The last time he was here, he gave her flowers and asked her to find Lieberman. A lot had happened since then. A lot had changed.

She buzzed him up, and he tried to get a grip. He should have brought something for her. Beer, wine, anything to help make the favor he was asking go down easier. He hadn’t thought of it until it was too late. 

He was in front of her door in a blink, and there she was. Tall, slim, blonde, with those eyes that made it hard to look at her, and even harder to look away. She had already kicked off her work shoes, and was standing there in bare feet. Something about that comforted him. 

“Come in.” He shuffled into her space. It looked much the same as the last time he was there, same furniture, same art, same tiny kitchen. “Beer?”

He shrugged and Karen handed him a bottle after she opened it. She grabbed one for herself and waved him over to the couch. She leaned against the back of the couch, hair falling in a curtain to the side of her face, waiting for him to say what he needed to say.

“How’ve you been?” It wasn’t what he meant to say at all, but it slipped out. He didn’t know how to ask her for this. It was asking far too much, after everything she’d done for him. 

“Fine,” she said, eyebrows raised. “But that’s not a favor, Frank. What do you need?”

Frank looked down at his hands, scarred knuckles gnarled from years of fighting, clawing, raging against every scumbag he could find. His were the hands of a killer, and he couldn’t ask this of her.

“Oh, uh, never mind. I found another way.” He started to stand. He had to get out of there. He would figure something else out, tell David and Curt that she said no, that he accepted it, that they had to find a different way to get the information they needed.

“Don’t lie to me, Frank.” 

He stilled, turned to look at her. Karen’s eyes were flashing dangerously at him, like they used to when he was being stubborn and not cooperating with his defense. He’d still be trapped in a goddamn jail cell if it wasn’t for her, and he at least owed her the truth.

He sighed. “There’s this pocket of the mob that’s got a branch upstate. None of ‘em are from the city, none of ‘em would know you.”

Karen was still watching him, never looking away. She had never looked away, even when he was at his worst. “Why does that matter? What do you need, Frank?”

“I need you to come with me, get some intel.”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“They got some big event this weekend at this hotel. They have dirt on all kinds of guys up there.”   
“But what do you need me for?” She was leaning towards him now, that excited gleam lighting her face. He had seen that before, when she was chasing a lead, building a case.

Frank coughed. “David and Curt think I’ll be less conspicuous if I show up with a date to the event.”

“A date?” She smiled a little. “That’s the favor you need?”

“It’s stupid, forget it.” Frank felt himself blushing. He needed air. He turned to go.

“I’ll do it.”

He froze again, halfway to her door. He must have heard her wrong.

“I’ll do it.”

* * *

Karen didn’t even know why she agreed. Or so she claimed, when she explained the situation to Foggy. If she really thought about it, really considered it, she knew exactly why she did.

She had missed him. Every time they met for coffee, she wondered if they could actually do it, actually become friends, in whatever way they could both handle. But then he would disappear again, for months at a time, and she didn’t want to push him. She had tried that, and he nearly died in his attempt to get away from her. That last day in the hospital still haunted her. 

This was an opportunity to be there for him, be with him, and she wasn’t about to pass it up. He insisted it wasn’t his idea, that she could back out, but she wasn’t going anywhere. He might not want her, but she was done pretending not to want him.

Karen took his hand as soon as they got out of the car. The event was formal, and Karen was in a slinky black dress with a slit up to her thigh. She knew Frank thought she was just acting, just playing the part of Pete Castiglione’s doting wife, Carolyn. That was her alias, after all, conveniently set up by David Lieberman, the man who had brought Frank back to her the first time, after Schoonover had torn them apart.

He had also put their names on the guest list, so they had no trouble getting into the venue. Frank wouldn’t even look at her, and she couldn’t tell if it was just his focus on the mission, or something else keeping that distance between them. Karen glanced around as they walked through the crowd, and couldn’t help but notice that the people here seemed to be fairly ordinary, mostly older couples chatting quietly together. She had spent enough time on the crime beat to know the mobster look, and these people didn’t have it. 

“Should we get a drink, honey?” she murmured to Frank, smile on her crimson lips.

His eyes shifted over to meet hers in an instant, like she had startled him. “Sure, sweetheart.”

The endearment burned like a brand. He didn’t mean it. He was just playing his part. She couldn’t get too caught up. She was the only one who wasn’t pretending here.

She kissed his cheek as he handed her a glass of whiskey. He hadn’t even asked. He knew what she drank. She wondered how, if he had just guessed well, or if Lieberman had somehow researched that for him. She wanted to believe he knew her.

“Thank you,” she mumbled against his skin. He had shaved off the stubble, but it was fighting to come back, rough under her lips.

“Anything for you,” he said, and the fire in his eyes didn’t feel like an act. Karen’s heart started beating faster.

“What exactly are we looking for again?” she whispered, close enough to his ear that no one else could hear her. From the outside, she hoped it just looked like she couldn’t keep her hands off him. She wished that was the reason.

“Let’s finish our drinks first.”

Karen threw hers back in one swallow and Frank chuckled, low enough that only Karen heard him over the music playing in the background.

“Patience, sweetheart.” He was grinning like she’d never seen before. She wondered if this is what it would be like, to be with him for real.

Even so, he finished his drink quickly and took her hand, leading her towards a staircase she hadn’t even noticed. They went into a private office and Frank closed the door quietly behind them.

“He said it would be on the computer. Gave me this to download it.” He held up a thumb drive and went to work. Karen stood by the door, in case anyone started walking down the hall towards them.

Frank tapped a few keys on the computer, and then groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

“It’s not there?” Karen said, swinging around the other side of the desk to stand beside him. She read what the screen said and had to read it again, to make sure she understood it.

The screen was black, with just five words written, cursor blinking brightly against the background:

JUST KISS HER, YOU IDIOT

Karen blushed, and Frank was still staring at the screen like he was willing it to say something else.

“I can’t believe them.”

“Who?”

“David and Curt.”   
“You think they did this? Sent us up here for this?” Frank nodded, hanging his head.

She couldn’t help it. Karen started to laugh, like she hadn’t laughed in years. Frank looked up, startled, but when she didn’t stop, a few chuckles bubbled up from deep in his chest and he was laughing right along with her. 

“They got us,” Karen said, nudging Frank with her hip.

“They sure did.” He was looking at her now, as intently as he had been avoiding her eyes earlier. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he was actually considering what his friends were telling him to do.

“This isn’t even a mob party, is it?”

“Probably not,” he sighed, and his hand closed over hers. She could feel his pulse jumping under his skin, and she shifted a fraction closer to him.

He tugged her down, until she was in his lap, his arms around her. She couldn’t quite breathe. She didn’t know what he would do next. He had never touched her this way. Checked her for wounds, sure. Held her to the ground to protect her from bullets, definitely. But Frank had never held her like this, touched her like this.

“This dress,” he mumbled, looking down. “You pick it out?”

“Yeah,” Karen said, feeling a blush rising from her chest all the way to her forehead. “Just never had a chance to wear it.”

He nodded, biting his lip. When he looked up at her again, Karen couldn’t deny the way her heart skipped in her chest. Those eyes had always drawn her in, made it impossible for her to stay away, no matter how many times she told herself he wasn’t worth it. He was. He was always worth it.

“Don’t tell them, yeah?”

Karen wanted to ask what he meant, but then Frank’s mouth was on hers and she was lost in the sensation of his lips on hers, his hands tightening around her waist. 

He was a little hesitant, holding back from her just slightly. She could feel it. She slid her tongue into his mouth and he stiffened, surprised, before pulling her even closer. Her fingers traced over his buzzed hair, nails carving into his skin as she held him to her. She wasn’t letting go now. She couldn’t.

But then he was moving, pulling her to her feet. His lips never left hers, but his hands were everywhere, smoothing the fabric of her dress over her hips, her thighs. He tugged at the dress, pulling it up to reveal her legs, and Karen sank back against the desk, breathing hard.

“This okay?” he asked, almost shy.

Karen smiled and nodded. “Yes, Frank. This is more than okay.” She took his hand and pulled it under her dress, so he could feel how wet she was. His eyes widened, and he kissed her again, more desperately this time, fingers dipping into her panties until he found the spot that made her gasp.

He ducked his head and sucked at her collarbone, fingers dancing over the spot she needed, building the pressure until it was too much, and Karen came with a shuddering moan, gushing over his fingers.

“That’s my girl.”

“Please, Frank. I want to feel you,” she said, and she could hear the whimper in her tone as he withdrew his hand.

He smiled, taking the back of her head in his hand as he pulled her in for another searing kiss. “Anything you want, sweetheart.”

Karen’s heart leaped at the word. She knew it was silly, but he meant it this time. It was just the two of them. He wasn’t pretending anymore. Neither of them were.

She leaned over the desk, propping herself on her forearms, as Frank pulled up her dress. He tugged her panties to the side and she heard him unzipping his fly as she spread her legs. There was something so raw, so right, about this being their first time, still fully clothed, where anyone could find them. They had never done things the normal way. Why should sex be any different?

She was dripping with need for him, and when he slid inside, she had to bite back the scream she wanted to unleash. He was thick, hard, heavy, and she was sure she had never had anyone so big. He let her get used to his size for a moment before he moved, but when he did, she saw stars.

The only sound was the wet meeting of their bodies, and Frank’s mumbled words against her shoulder. The papers on the desk were getting crumpled under her arms, but Karen didn’t care. He reached around and found that spot on her clit again, rubbing it until Karen’s thighs clenched around him.

“Jesus, you’re so tight. Come for me, baby.” 

He kept circling the spot until Karen came down from her high, aftershocks still sending shivers over her with every thrust. He picked up the pace until she felt him tensing against her too, strokes wild and uneven until he came with a low groan of her name. 

He stayed there for a long moment, breathing with her. The weight of him was comforting, like the piece she had been missing for too long.

“It’s too late to drive home tonight. Why don’t we find a hotel and drive home tomorrow?” he said, pressing another kiss to her shoulder.

Karen grinned. “Let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm so excited to be kicking off this year's smut week with this one, and I hope you enjoyed it! Kudos and comments are always appreciate, and I'll be posting another fic tomorrow. :)


End file.
